Truth, Reconciliation and Archaeology

Guest speaker, Mr. Paul Racher (Past President of the Ontario Archaeological Society and a Principal at ARA Ltd.) will be presenting a lecture titled:

Truth, Reconciliation and Archaeology

Photo by Michelle Siu

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) offered chilling evidence that Canada’s history has not been as heroic as we might have wished in this 151 years since Confederation. The 94 Calls to Action proposed in its final report, along with the recently-accepted United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) propose some serious changes to how archaeology and heritage is “done” in Canada. Are we as a society ready for the full implications of what they might mean?

Biography

Mr. Paul Racher is the Past President of the Ontario Archaeological Society and a Principal at ARA Ltd., Ontario’s oldest archaeological and heritage consulting firm. Paul has been a professional archaeologist since 1986 and has spent much of that time as an active campaigner for the recognition of Indigenous rights in archaeological and heritage planning.